Puerto Rico, One Month After Hurricane Maria: 3 Million Without Power, 1 Million Without Water

Puerto Rico

by

Sean Breslin

,

The Weather Channel

It has been one month since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, causing unimaginable destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has persisted in the U.S. territory of 3.4 million people.

To put the tragedy into some perspective, it helps to see the numbers associated with a storm of this magnitude and the devastation it leaves behind. Here are some of the most notable numbers in the recovery effort.

48

Deaths officially reported by the Puerto Rican government, though some officials have said the death toll could actually be far higher. According to a Vox investigation, the death toll could be as high as 450, but the causes of those fatalities remain unknown.

500,000

Puerto Rico residents who could permanently leave the island, according to a report cited by the Independent.

15,000

Staff from the Department of Defense on the ground in Puerto Rico, according to a FEMA spokesperson.

1,900

FEMA staff currently working in Puerto Rico, according to a FEMA spokesperson.

600,000

Meals provided each day by FEMA, the agency said.

15 Million

Meals provided by FEMA since the beginning of the disaster.

3 Million

Approximate number of Puerto Ricans who still lack power, which amounts to 88 percent of the population.

1 Million

Approximate number of Puerto Ricans who still lack drinking water; all who had service restored are under a boil-water advisory. That amounts to 29 percent of the population.

754

Cell towers working on the island; Puerto Rico has a total of 1,619 towers.

2,400

Miles of transmission lines knocked out by Maria on the island. The storm also downed more than 30,000 miles of smaller distribution wires, leaving Puerto Rico almost completely without power for weeks.

44

Average age, in years, of the power plants on the island. ABC News said that's "significantly older" than the average age of power plants on the U.S. mainland.

1.1 Million

Barrels of gasoline delivered to the island.

873

Gas stations that have reopened on the island. There are a total of 1,110 gas stations in Puerto Rico, according to the government.

94

Shelters that remain open on the island.

100,000

Estimated demand for tarps to cover damaged roofs on the island, NPR reported. Each tarp takes almost a day to install, the report added.

$4.9 Billion

Piece of the $36.5 billion federal disaster aid bill recently passed by the House of Representatives that would go to fund recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. The bill is also expected to help with recovery efforts from other recent hurricane disasters, as well as the Northern California wildfires. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill soon.